John Clark - The Meal Prep King Plan: Save time. Lose weight. Eat the meals you love

Id like to express special thanks to the following people for their part in the realization of this endeavour.

First and foremost, Charlotte Deniz, for being a supporting and loving partner, for believing in me when no one else did and for being such an important and special part of this journey with me.

Frank Barrow for helping me fall in love with cooking and teaching me the fundamentals of cookery.

Stephen Orton for also believing in me when no one else did. Hes a true friend who gave great advice and guidance throughout this whole journey.

It goes without saying, I would like to thank all the people at Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House on the teams that made this book happen, including anyone who worked on the book in the background that I havent met.

Id also like to thank Charlie Brotherstone, my book agent, who made all this possible; Grace Paul, who helped pull everything together; and the team who worked on the photo shoot and design, including Emma and Alex Smith, Jamie Orlando-Smith, Phil Mundy, Cynthia Blackett, Annie Swain and her assistants, and Malin Coleman. I hope I havent forgotten anyone!

I would like to dedicate this book to Frank Barrow, the most important and influential person in my life.

Hi there,

My name is John and Ive been meal prepping for 18 years. In that time Ive lost 9 stone in total and have discovered how to achieve permanent weight loss in an easy, healthy and affordable way all because of meal prep. Ive learnt how to prep my way back to health whilst also saving money, time and food. Whether you want to completely overhaul your life or simply lose a couple of pounds, Im here to show you how you can do it too!

Im a 40-year-old based in Bolton, and my partner, Charlotte, who is 34, lives in Blackpool. Together weve turned our lifestyles around and now we are helping others across the world do the same. Ive been cooking since around the age of six, often helping my grandad in the kitchen when I was a youngster. Ive always enjoyed food and the endless possibilities that are at your fingertips with it. After all, one thing every human has in common is that we all have to eat!

Growing up, I wasnt an overweight child. In fact, I was a normal weight until I was about 21 years old, when I developed some pretty unhealthy habits including drinking too much alcohol and eating whatever I liked. My weight ballooned from 12st to 21st 6lb over the course of a few years. Often people told me I carried it well and looking back, I think this was the worst thing anyone could have said to me, as it gave me an excuse to gain even more weight.

It was a recipe for disaster and was starting to have an effect on my confidence, as well as many other aspects of my life. For one, my clothes were getting tighter and tighter. The usual high-street shops didnt really sell many clothes for plus-size people so Id dread shopping trips. Everything I wore was black in an attempt to conceal how large I was. Id end up taking 10 to 12 items of clothing into the changing room in a desperate attempt to find something that would fit. I was often stopped by security and told that I couldnt take in that many items at one time. I felt too embarrassed to explain why I had so many garments and, more often than not, Id leave empty-handed. Im quite a self-conscious person who likes to dress nicely and be well groomed, so not being able to find clothes that fitted was a big wake-up call for me.

I began to feel ashamed that Id let myself get to this point, and when I hit my heaviest weight over 21 stone I realized that I had to do something about it.

Id learnt about batch cooking from an old friend so I already knew how to avoid food waste and use everything up in my fridge. I started going to the library to find books about calories and the science behind weight loss. Armed with my new-found knowledge, plus a set of kitchen scales, a pen and some paper, I started to plan my food intake more carefully and soon I was shedding pounds of fat. I taught myself how to meal prep and cook in a way that meant I stuck to the necessary calories I needed every day and lost weight in a healthy, affordable and sustainable way, whilst also ensuring I didnt waste any food (I really hate food waste!).

Since then, Ive sustained my 9-stone weight loss, grown in confidence and fallen in love with food for the second time but in a much healthier way. I also fell in love with Charlotte along the way! Because of my weight-loss success, and having seen how much meal prep helped Charlotte too, I decided to set up an Instagram account to help teach other people how to make their weekly meals and show them that they too can transform their lives.